Surgical sandal for treatment of bunions.



- A. REED.

SURGICAL SANDAL FOR TREATMENT OF BUNIONS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 31,1914.

1,167,019, Patel fled Jan. 4, 1916.

WITNESSES. INVENTOR.

' ATTORNE Y.

. ADAM REED, OFIBOZEMAN, MONTANA.

SURGICAL SANDAL IE'OR TREATMENT OF BUNIONS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan.4,.1916.

Application filed October 31, 1914. Serial No. 869,601.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADAM of the United States, residing at Bozeman, inthe county of Gallatin and State of Mentana, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Surgical Sandals for Treatment of Bunions, ofwhich the following is a'specification, reference being had therein tothe accompanying drawing. My invention relates to improvements insurgical sandals for treatment of bunions,

the objects of which are, first; toJprovide a sur ical appliance of thisclass, by the use of which enlargement of they great toe joint, commonlyknowri as a.bunion, is reduced, ,and the great toe is gradually broughtback to its normal position, second; to provide .adjusting appliancesfor the sandal, whereby the strain on the enlarged joint is soadjusted,'fi"om time to time, during treatment of the same, that thegreat toe is gradually brought back to normal position without causinpain, or an appreciable amount of iscomfort to the wearer of theappliance, third ;to so construct the toe holding means, that thetoenext to the great toe, can neither aggravate nor, cause an ingrowntoenail on the great toe of the wearer, as is frequently foot of thewearer being indicated by dotted done from pressure and rubbing of theadj acent surfaces of said toes I attain these objects by the devicesillus trated in the accompanying drawing, in which j v Figure 1 isa topplanvof the sandal, the

lines. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line X X, seenin Fig. 1,looking toward the right. Fig. 3 is a similarsection, on. the lineYY,.seen in Fig. 1, showing details of the foot stop. Fig. 4 is-a sideelevation of thefoot stop. Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of a thickfoot stop pad. Fig. 6 is a bottom plan ofthe sandal. Fig. 7

is a top View of. a portion of a foot, showing a deformed and'diseasedgreat toe joint, f

from the position seen in Fig. 6, and holding it in the position seen inbefore application of the sandal;

My invention, in its preferred form, comprises a sole 1,formedpreferably of sole leather, said sole having a slot 1' formedthrough the toe portion thereof. Said sole is provided with heel strap 2and shank strap '3. Said straps are provided with securingmeans 2 and3', respectively, where by said sandal is adjustably secured onthe footof a person. 4 Said straps are preferably REED, a citizen as shown, orany other well lmown strap securing devices. Said straps pass throughfiat loops 2 and 3", secured on the bottom of the heel and shankportions, respectively, of sole 1, as seen in Fig. 6.

Great toe holder 4 is preferably formed of rigid sheet metal and has allof its surfaces which are above sole 1, covered with elastic material,such as felt, flannel, or the like. One of the edge portions of saidholder is passed downward through slot 1, and is bent flat beneath solel, and riveted thereon, as seen in Fig. 2. The other. edge of saidholder is passed downward against the edge of said sole, is also bentflat therebeneath, and riveted thereon, thus forming a semicircularsleeve, adapted to receive the great toe 5, of a person.

Foot stop" 6 is preferably formed ofrigid sheet metal, and is placedagainst the inner' edge of sole 1, at a point just back of enlargedjoint 7. The lower edge portion of 'said foot stop is bent fiat beneaththe bottom of said sole, and riveted thereon. Said stop is formed to fitthe inner edge of foot 8, and is provided with cushion 9, which is heldagainst the operative surface of said stop, by stitches 9, formedpreferably of theheel of a person, is like the described foot stop, bothin construction and operation, andis therefore neither shown in detail,nor fully described. Cushion 9",

(seen in Fig. 5,) is of greater thickness than cushion-9, and-is used inplace of the latter, as hereinafter described. In application and use,buckles 2 and 3 are unfastened, great toe 51s insertedin holder 4, foot8'is forced into the po'sltion seen in Fig. 1, thereby straightening toe5 F1 1 which strap s l-and- 2.are adjustably secured 1, after asdesired, uponthe instep-of the wearer.-

securing means may be either vfiat buckles,

that it is adapted to' fit the side surface of j While the sandal is'thus worn,jit will be un- I derstood, that the fleshy portion or flap 5of toe 5, presses against the side of holder 4,

with the foot 8 held'in position by stops 6 and 10. After'th e'described sandal has been thus worn-for a suflicient length of time,

. understood, that in afflictions of this charwhich is determined by thelightness of said pressure of toe 5; the sandal is removed from the foot8, stitches 9 are cut, they and pad 9 are removed from foot stop 6, anda thicker pad 9", (see Fig. 5,) is. stitched on.

said foot stop. If so desired, the padding of heelstop 10, may besimilarly changed. It will be understood, that the thicker pad holdsfoot 8, (which afterward is placed as previously described,) in aposition, clockwise to the position shown in Fig 1, while longer worn.Said sandal may be provided with a sole of suflicient thickness to beworn without a shoe or any other covering for the foot 8, other-thanhosiery, (not shown,) especially formed with a bifurcated toe portion;or be adapted to be worn in an /ordinary shoe; in whichlatter casestraps 2 and 3, with their securing means 2 and 3 are removed from thesandal, and the use of same is dispensed with.

By referring to Fig. 6, it will be seen and acter, great toe 5 overlapsthe adjacent toe dQjandthat in walking, its fleshy portion,

or flap 5 is pressed downward upon said adjacent toe; thereby causingsaid flap to be pressed against the adjacent edge of great toe nail 5",which causes said nail to cut into said flap and also said edge of saidnail to turn downward and form what is termed an ingrown nail. Theseactions are repeated so frequently in walking, that aggravation ofthethus cut flap is heightened, ulceration of the flap ensues, and the samebecomcs'a painful. and serious aflliction.

It will be seen and understood, by referring to Fig. 2, that'toe holder& prevents the upward pressure of toe 12 against said flap, and thusassists in relieving said aflliction, and also while worn, prevents theforming of an ingrown nail on great toe Having fully described myinvention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent isA surgical sandal, comprising a sole adapted to cover the entire bottomof the foot of a person, said solebeing formed of sole leather and thelike; securing means detachably secured on said' sole whereby the latteris detachably secured on said foot; a rigid sleeve secured to the toeportion of said-sole said sleeve being adapted to receive and hold thegreat toe of said foot 11'1 natural alinement with said sole; holdingmeans for holding saidfoot against lateral movement on said sole; andchangeable pads of varying thicknesses detachably secured on theoperativesurfaces of said holding means for laterally adjusting theposition of said foot. In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in thepresence of two witnesses.

ADAM REED.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH O. 'lHoMPsoN,

1 Ronnn'r L. 1* ETTERS.

